Legendary
by Ryzi
Summary: "When this is over, I'll be free, and you'll be gone."
1. Good Riddance

The sun was setting on another day on Pandora; a day that had probably been filled with murder and mass mayhem. The bright stars in the universe began to make an appearance as they spotted themselves through the inky sky. Skags howled in the distance as the creatures themselves chased their prey across the sands. A loud ferocious screech halted one of the pups as a large bird-like beast dove down and dug its claws into the tough flesh of the canine-esque monster before taking back to the skies. Close by a man chuckled dryly and mumbled "Atta girl".

A horde of feet shuffled out of a stolen Bandit Technical, soft chatter and laughter floated through the cool night air as they drew closer to a blazing bonfire that engulfed one of the Arid Nexus' few trees. There were two figures hanging around the angry orange flames that seemed to be having an argument of sorts. A larger, much bulkier, man was occupied with setting logs around the fire to service as seats.

From atop the overhanging cliff by the bonfire, a lone dark figure was nearly invisible against the darkening sky. The only way to see he was there was by the bright red '0' projecting into the night.

"This isn't some Girl Scout camping trip pipsqueak, why did you only bring marshmallows?!" The Commando huffed at the Mechromancer who was just rolling her eyes.

"I didn't _just_ bring marshmallows, I brought chocolate and gram crackers too."

Axton groaned loudly and threw up his arms. Salvador laughed loudly as he scuttled over to the fire with a case of beer and a guitar strapped to his back.

"Lighten up amigo!" The dwarf slapped his friend on the back.

The Vault Hunters gathered by the cliff side and began setting up further. A mix of various aromas began to fill the air, along with the familiar scents of gunpowder, sweat, blood, and pizza. Everyone took a seat around the fire.

Maya scanned the group and noticed someone missing.

"Hey, where's…Krieg?" She asked; her companions all shrugged.

Some loose pieces of dead wood fell from the blaze, a large hulking figure stood within. The man laughed maniacally.

"BORN INTO FLAAAAME!" He bellowed before stumbling into the open, his flesh set aflame. The group laughed at their companion's actions. Lilith rose to her feet and pulled out a carton of cigarettes then drew one of the small sticks.

She held out the cigarette, "Care to help?" Krieg poked its end with a burning finger. The Phasewalker brought the non-smoldering end to her red lips and inhaled slowly, taking in the familiar aroma before exhaling a large cloud into the clear sky. Maya flicked a finger and suffocated the fire on the Psycho to extinguish.

Krieg made an audible grunt and slumped over, much like a child being told to go to time-out. Salvador pulled the guitar from his back and began mindlessly strumming some chords as Gaige reached into her bag of marshmallows and stabbed one with her prosthetic finger. She then proceeded to remove her artificial limb and held it close to the fire, toasting her marshmallow to perfection.

"Uh…Lil'Slab, ain't ya worried about that arm?" Brick commented after taking a sip of Rakk Ale (courtesy of Mordecai no less). The Mechromancer looked at her disembodied limb and pursed her lips.

"Yeaaaaaaah. It seemed like a good idea at the time…" She slid the gooey mass in between two crackers and took a bite, "Oh that's good."

"That reminds me," Axton started with a smirk, "Remember when you got stuck in the sand?" The teen shot up and glared daggers at the Commando, whom just broke out into laughter, "Man, you were screaming and hollering, I thought something was trying to eat you. But no! You…" He had to pause from laughing too hard, "You were just stuck!"

Gaige's eye twitched in annoyance and she gritted her teeth.

"How did she even get stuck?" Mordecai inquired.

"Okay…hoo…okay. So, we were out where the Sawteeth were, and this kid here was shooting at some barrels. Well one minute I'm fighting, the next I hear 'AH! FUCK! HELP!' " Axton did his best imitation of a girly scream. The younger Vault Hunter flared her nostrils and marched up to her team mate. She tightened her grip on her robotic limb and pulled it back before swinging the disembodied limb hard across Axton's cheek.

"Fuck man…I was just telling a story…Sheesh." He rubbed his aching jaw.

"Then should I tell them of the time you were a piñata?" Gaige narrowed her eyes and smirked evilly. The Commando pressed his lips into a line and sneered, "Yeah, Axton here was being dumb in the Bloodshot Stronghold and fell off a ledge into some wires and well…let's just say for the next half hour psychos were whacking him at with sticks."

A thunderous laugh erupted from the group. Axton shrunk back slightly.

"Well I can't wait to be out of here." He retorted, instantly shutting everyone up.

The silence hung heavy over the group as the Commando's words sunk in. A few of the Vault Hunters exchanged glances, while others looked away.

Right.

That's why they were here.

Lilith took a long drag of her dying cigarette before dropping it and stomping it out in the sand. She exhaled sharply, catching everyone's attention. The Phasewalker rose to her feet and paced over to the fiercely burning fire and stared long into its flames.

"It's…It's been fun guys." She mumbled, her shoulders drooping. Mordecai walked over to his partner and hung his arm across her shoulders and pulled her into a sideways embrace. A soft sniffling sob escaped the Siren as she wiped away a tear, "Damn it, hold it together girl." She hissed to herself. Lilith turned around to face everyone.

"I'm not good at these goodbye speeches, but…without you all…well…"

"What I think Lil is trying to say, is thanks. Without y'all, Jack would have wiped us out."

"Yeah."

The other Vault Hunters stood and drew closer to the red-haired Siren, forming one rather awkward group hug.

After the sudden sadness, the Vault Hunters all returned to their seats and sat through a few moments of silence, Salvador began strumming chords once more. His fingers stumbled a few times before he found the right rhythm. Everyone let the soft tune surround and soothe them, even the psychotic Krieg allowed the music to calm him. Gaige hummed lyrics and swayed side to side.

Maya looked over at Axton who had moved to the sand and was resting against a log. He looked back at her and gave a small smirk, "I'm heading out to one of the Vault Planets" he commented, "What about you?"

The Siren pulled an ancient looking tome from her stack deck, "researching Sirens."

"Nerd." Axton laughed jokingly. Maya giggled as well then looked over at the Psycho scraping lines in the sand.

"What are you going to do Krieg?" She asked, already fully aware that his answer was going to be deranged, "_But whatever, he's a part of the team too._"

"_Find a way out. I want to go back to being at least civil…or maybe having some control…_"

"I'LL SCOUR THE KNIVES FOR THE COLD BLOODY PAINS AND EAT ALL THE JUICY FLESHBAGS."

The rest of the night was filled with fond stories and farewells.

* * *

It had been three years since everyone said their goodbyes. Some stayed on the planet, others headed out to find other Vaults. Krieg however was on his own mission. While his outer self was itching to kill everything under the sun, his inner self was slowly driving him to try and uncover any clues to becoming sane again.

The landscape sped by as Krieg stared out the window of the train car. Maya's terrified voice echoed in his mind as he replayed the transmission he had intercepted accidentally. The Psycho twitched anxiously in his place as he resisted the urge to hop out and run to Sanctuary. But no, he knew the Transplanetary Express was faster. He recalled how she sounded desperate and scared, like a cornered animal.

"Don't stop me."

* * *

_So...Ghosts and Raiders is going to be wrapping up soon._  
_And, I've had this idea burning in my skull._

_This is a completely separate story from my last two Borderlands fics._  
_And well. Yeah._

_Should I continue this?_  
_I mean, I'll probably put up the next chapter._  
_But not until I'm done Ghosts._

_(oh yeah, listen to Green Day's "Good Riddance" while reading)_


	2. Amnesia

_A/N: Well. Here we are. Chapter one of Legendary. I said I was going to take a Hiatus. But, I had to get this out before it took full swing. Also, the title is in reference to the song "Amnesia" by 5SoS. I listened to it a lot while writing this...so enjoy!_

* * *

The ride to the closest station was starting to feel unbearably long as Krieg recognized the passing scenery to be of the Windshear Wastes. He gripped the rail above his head and gritted his teeth. Thoughts of different scenarios began to flash in and out of his mind, creating terrifying situations. The Psycho growled lowly and thrashed his other arm. Whatever was happening to Maya, he had to stop.

"_What...what did she do?! God I hope she..._"

"LITTLE MAN LET THE BLOOD FLOW!"

"_Right...Right...Gotta calm down_."

He looked back out the window to the horizon, watching the colours of the sky melt from light blue to deep navy. A heavy sigh passed from behind his mask and the Psycho roughly scratched his head. He took his ECHO and stared at it for a moment before switching it to 'open-air' mode, allowing any transmissions to broadcast to him. A few mindless personal ECHO-casts played as the train passed through several different areas.

The Transplanetary Express halted suddenly, sending Krieg sprawling to the cold floor with a grunt.

"We are experiencing some technical difficulties. Estimated repair time 2...4...6...10...hours." A robotic voice cracked out over the intercom.

10 hours?! The Psycho couldn't wait that long, who knew what was happening to Maya? He looked out at his location. There he could see the Bunker in plain view. Something inside of him stirred.

"Gaige! Gaige! Shut it down!" Lilith's frantic voice screamed through the ECHO. Krieg's eyes widened.

"I'm...I'm trying! But not even DT can get close enough!" The Mechromancer replied.

An explosion resounded over the transmission.

"DAMN IT MAYA! WE JUST WANT TO HELP!"

"WHY DOES MEAT MAIDEN SUFFER THE ACHE PUPPIES?!" Krieg bellowed through his ECHO, silencing the transmission.

"Krieg?" Both ladies asked in unison. The Psycho roared and punched out the window next to him, gaining access to run to the Bunker.

As he sprinted to the Fast-Travel to take him up, Lilith did her best to give a run-down of their current situation.

"Okay...Okay...So I'll explain _exactly _ what happened when we get Maya out, but here's what's going on now." The Siren huffed, " Maya has herself trapped in Control Core Angel, Gaige and I here are trying to get to her. She's keeping us out. Mordecai is keeping any enemy out of range..." another explosion resounded, "SHIT. MAYA!" The transmission went dead. Krieg felt all the blood rush to his brain as an anxious fever built and fueled his sprint. Catastrophic thoughts raced around, pounding against his skull, turning his vision red as he ran faster.

The Fast-Travel came into view, the Psycho reached forward and skidded to a stop. He queued up his destination and allowed himself to transport next to the entrance for the Control Core. Lilith and Gaige stood outside the elevator, both looking fairly exhausted. They both gave weak smiles to the Psycho then looked back to the elevator.

Gaige staggered over to a small control panel she had set up and began typing away quickly, her eyes widened.

"She's trying to reactivate the collar..." her voice grew soft. Lilith held a hand to her throat and rubbed the spot where she had once been forced to wear the device.

A large explosion shook the structure causing everyone to topple over.

"...Correction...she's reactivated it." Gaige pushed herself up.

Fire burned deep under Krieg's skin, fear and desperation sent him into overdrive as his once slightly collected thoughts hazed over.

"_Can't...hold it...back_" The inner self stammered as the Psycho broke out into a crazed roar and charged into the lift. With his brute strength, Krieg sent the elevator plummeting down into the familiar Control Core. As he reached the bottom of the structure, he was greeted by the forceful pull of a Phaselock that dragged him farther inside.

In the center of the room, Maya stood hunched over, her once flawless complexion was now bruised and burned, her previously perfect hair now looked somewhat akin to a Rakk's nest, and her bright and brave eyes were dulled and dying. Just the sight of her was breaking Krieg. Whatever drove the Siren to take such a drastic measure had now placed the top in Krieg's list to kill. She looked up through heavy lids and opened her eyes a fraction wider.

Her jaw slacked and with shaky hands Maya reached forward, breathing out the word "No" over and over as her tattoos grew brighter. Krieg took a step forward.

"_Do you remember us?_" He asked mentally. Maya threw a hand to her head and buckled at the knees, obviously in pain.

The Phaselocker suddenly arched back and her arms flung out as she cried in unbearable agony. Krieg charged instinctively, his hands out as if to catch her. Maya's tattoos flashed brighter than ever and the room slowly began to crumble inwards like paper. She shrieked louder, blood now streamed from under her hair and out of her ears and nose.

Krieg lunged forward and grasped onto his old companion, a sudden crushing sensation surrounded him as he pulled Maya closer, hoping to interrupt the massive damage. The two of them crumpled onto the breaking floor.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, Krieg could feel the nova off of Lilith's Phasewalk transporting them away.

* * *

"_Why_" the word floated around Krieg's mind like driftwood. It wasn't even a question, more like an ambiguous thought. He was numb and blind. The sensation was something like the start of one of his common night terrors. Krieg awaited for the rush of consuming thoughts to send him into a panicked frenzy, but no such thing occurred. He just floated in unconscious blackness.

What felt like seconds later, Krieg cracked his eyes open. Blurred outlines of figures appeared in his view and the Psycho hissed. Thoughts of the previous events reconnected and the Psycho began to rethink what happened. He recalled how powerful Maya looked, how strong she had become, and most importantly (well to his insanity at least) how much pain he was in now.

A pleased smile stretched under the Psycho's mask, but then other thoughts took over. Where was Maya now? Was she okay? Why was she so strong?

"Hup, he's waking up..." Gaige's voice called softly.

"...I bet he's gonna lose it." Mordecai admitted.

"Shh!" Lilith hissed.

Krieg mindlessly swatted at his mask and grumbled, "Maya? Maya?"

The others stepped back. Krieg sat up and slowly turned his head to gather his bearings.

From what he could tell, he was back in the Raiders' HQ. It was almost exactly how he remembered it, save for some upgraded technology.

"Maya? Maya?" He muttered her name outwardly as his inner self asked more "coherent" questions.

"_What was that? How did this happen?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!_"

The Firehawk cautiously approached Krieg and placed a hand on his shoulder. The Psycho looked up at her, confusion reflecting in his eye. The Siren sighed and bit her lip, debating whether or not to tell Krieg what had happened.

"_WE HAVE TO KNOW. TELL HER WE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MAYA!_"

The half-sane Psycho hung his head and clutched his eyes shut, growling out random words before looking back up at Lilith. With long and labored breaths, he spoke.

"What...Happen." His tone wasn't aggressive in the least, just a little harsh and rough. Everyone seemed to freeze. Lilith stared wide eyed at the hulking man. She bit harder on her lip and exhaled.

"_He's coherent enough to ask reasonable questions. Maybe..._" She thought.

"Krieg," Lilith began slowly, "I'm going to tell you as much as I know. But can you promise to not...over...react?"

"_I'll do everything to keep the big guy under control._" the saner half stated even though he was well aware no one else could hear him.

"WEAVE THE PAIN PHEONIX WIDOW. FILL MY MIND WITH SUFFERING LORE." Krieg commanded. The Siren inhaled sharply at her nickname from the Psycho.

Another moment of silence passed as Lilith collected herself. The others shuffled awkwardly.

"It wasn't long until after everyone left. You remember, Axton and Zero? Salvador?"

Krieg nodded.

* * *

"Maya said she was going to figure out more about Sirens. And, that was great. Go her! Tannis set her up with a data collection kit and ordered that she needed to report at least once a week. Well the first two weeks was...well nothing happened. Maya reported back every day. Heh, I remember hearing Tannis asking for every detail, despite there being none.

"But another week passed, and Maya reported again. This time she claimed to have found some 'Legendary Siren Tome', and that it had so much on Sirens I think she actually squealed. And you know Tannis had to see. So Maya came back, showed Tannis, and immediately got sent out on her way again.

"Months passed, Maya reported and visited. And if there's anything I can't forget, it's how she talked about using Eridium. That's right. She would go on about how just coming in contact with trace amounts of the stuff could help her with her research. We always would laugh about being careful with it so she wouldn't blow up Pandora. And for a while. Things were fine."

Lilith paused and gulped. Krieg hardened his gaze. Tension thickened in the air.

"It wasn't until late last year things started going wrong. Maya would forget to report, but would the week after and apologize like hell for it. We just thought she was tied up with her research. But then her reports stopped entirely. Gaige would try to track her ECHO, but it only sent her to where Maya must have thrown it away out in Windshear. For weeks...she was off the radar. Then, a few days ago, we picked up readings from the remains of the BNK-3R. And...Well...yeah. You saw what happened."

The Psycho sat absolutely still. His visible eye twitched in anger and a low growl rumbled from his throat. Lilith readied her powers, in case Krieg were to suddenly attack. The others placed their hands on their guns and eyed the insane Vault Hunter warily.

But nothing happened, Krieg just sat there, his eye still twitching and his head hung.

"_What made her do it?! WHO MADE HER DO IT?! WHY I SWEAR TO..."_

"I'll eat all ugly. Devour the catalysts of misery. ALL TO BRING THE LIGHT BACK HOME!" The Psycho snarled and thrashed in his place, hands digging into his seat, "GrrrrrrrrrrrIND GRIND GRIND." He launched from his spot and sprinted out to the square, "KILL...KILL..." Krieg hunched over and roared. The bones in his right arm snapped and crunched as his torso broadened. Muscles tore and re-healed and he took one last deep breath.

* * *

"**KILL**" He charged off the edge of the floating city and plummeted to the ground below, breaking the hard dirt under his feet. With a pull of the trigger, the Buzz Axe revved to life and Krieg unleashed another bellow before splattering a nomad all over the ground. With another flick of the wrist two midgets became one steaming pile of organs.

The Psycho cackled madly and submerged his hand into the fresh corpse and painted his skin with the warm blood. A feral screech echoed in the distance as a herd of stalkers scattered out of their cliff side nests. Krieg readied his Axe and stood firmly with his arm positioned. Once the creatures regrouped to attack, he hurled his weapon into the fray and smiled as an explosion of blood rained down like an April shower.

"_Can't say I blame you."_ The Little Man commented, "_Hell, you were able to keep from killing everyone else. And you actually made a coherent request! I'd call that three years of progress well done._"

"HNGH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Krieg dove into a rabid stalker, crushing it with his skull.

"_Yeah yeah. I know._"

The Psycho stood up, with said stalker draped upon his head like a hat. He grinned wildly at the carnage and slid his "hat" from his scalp and began toying with its intestines like a cat with yarn. It had felt like forever since Krieg was able to let loose without his conscious nagging him to refrain and then tugging his muscles to a halt.

Recently, that half had become stronger and more prominent. What had once been an annoying buzz in the back of his scattered mind, was now a pestering running commentary that had at times taken motor control. And Krieg hated it. He was the conductor, not the remains of his sanity.

After another hour of mindless slaughter, Krieg began digging through some small lockboxes left abandoned in a bandit camp. The Psycho kicked one of the small crates, causing an ECHO to tumble out. Curious, Krieg hit the playback button.

"OH GOD. OH GOD WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYyyyyy" A bandit shrieked before a wet sounding crush silenced him. The screeching of metal twisting pieced through the recording, nearly drowning out the chorus of crunching bones.

"...Sheesh...Just a quarter pound of Eridium has such massive effects..." Maya reported into the recording then grunted like she often did when summoning her ability.

The screams of the metal grew louder.

"It seems to...increase the pressure of my Phaselock." The ECHO ends and Krieg tucks it away in his stack deck.

"_Yeah no shit. I still feel that number you did on us yesterday._" The inner voice commented as the Psycho shrugs his arms to stretch the aching muscles. He looks at the surrounding camp and how the girders are warped upwards, spiraling unnaturally. Sheet metal is crumpled up like tissue paper. And contorted corpses litter the ground. Several small craters burrow into the ground. The psychotic Vault Hunter smiles at the deformities, admiring them like modern art. Krieg wondered just how powerful his Siren was now.

* * *

After releasing all that pent up rage, the Psycho found his way back up into the floating city. He meandered the streets, unsure on whether to try and visit Maya or just keep out of everyone's way. The conscious side opted on the first choice. He hadn't gotten enough of the overpowered Siren yet.

Lumbering his way to Zed's, Krieg overheard Lilith broadcasting something with Gaige. But he didn't care to pay it anymore mind. The Psycho had more important things.

He pushed past the iron door into the clinic.

"Ah. Evenin' fella." Dr. Zed greeted in his usual warm voice, "If ya here t'see Maya...she's in the back." He motioned to a doorway that definitely wasn't there three years ago. Krieg stumbled through the new archway into a larger, slightly cleaner room. In the center, lie Maya.

The Psycho slowly trudged over to the sleeping Siren, taking in the several tubes connected to her skin. As he drew closer, Krieg noticed a large shaved spot on Maya's scalp where a track of stitches held together the skin. Her left arm was bandaged up to her shoulder. The respirator over her pale lips hissed with every shallow breath. Bruises decorated every inch of her exposed flesh.

Her eyes were half open and lifeless. All determined spark and determination void from them. She was propped up with a few pillows, if one didn't know better; they would have thought she was just relaxing.

Krieg knelt beside the Siren and rested his hands on the bed, hanging his head.

"The growling pains inside roar for the light maiden and I cannot silence them." He exhaled roughly as his heavy hands fell to his side. He looked up to the monitors of the life support keeping Maya alive. Another deep sigh escaped his lips. She was so strong before, and now she was nothing more than a vegetable.

Foot falls stepped into the back room, "Don't know if she's gonna wake up..." The doctor murmured at a distance, "She was already gone when y'all got here, but...we're givin' her a week for everyone to come an' say their goodbyes."

A heavy ache settled in Krieg's chest, something far worse than he had ever felt before. The Psycho clawed at the source, hoping to rid himself of the pain.

"Why does the meat ache? WHAT IS THIS PARASITE OF AGONY?!" He questioned loudly.

"_Regret_" The saner half answered.

"I bet she 'ppreciates ya comin' by...but I needa run a few more tests, so if y'could head out..." Zed pointed to the entrance. Kreig slowly rose to his feet and staggered back outside to the streets of Sanctuary, plopping himself down by the clinic door, and eventually he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Krieg was rudely awakened with a heavy fist to the jaw. A tall and broad-shouldered man stood in front of him, his hood obscuring his face.

"I'M GONNA ASK YOU AGAIN YA SONUVABITCH...WHAT. DID. YOU DO. TO MAYA?!" His voice was familiar. The man swung his fist again against Kreig's temple. The Psycho growled and rose to his feet. His one eye scanned over his opponent, yes something about him was familiar.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" He demanded as he charged and pinned the Psycho to the wall.

Krieg snarled, "OFF THE MEAT!" and threw a hand against the unknown man's chest, easily lifting him off the ground.

"SO YOU KILL HER, AND NOW YOU'RE COMIN' FOR ME EH? WHAT, WAS KILLING MAYA NOT ENOUGH YOU GODDAMN PSYCHOPATH?!" The man thrashed around, his hood fell off to reveal Axton's angrily distressed face. The Psycho drew his Buzz Axe and revved the blade, bringing it closer to the Commando's face. Axton showed no fear, in fact, he smiled wickedly.

He thrust his feet hard against Krieg's chest, propelling himself off and away. He pulled out his assault rifle and reached for his turret. Krieg hunched over and felt the blood rush to his head, he clenched the hilt of his axe and snarled.

"_CALM DOWN! HE'S JUST ANGRY, DON'T KILL HIM!"_ The Little Man screamed to his insane landlord. But Kreig ignored the voice, his rage and excitement built. This was going to be a good fight.

Both Vault Hunters charged forth, weapons hungry for blood.

"DAMN IT, STOP!" Lilith shrieked, Phasewalking in between the two angered men. DT digistructed to life and pinned Krieg to the ground while Salvador made his appearance through restraining his old team mate, "Shhhh, down amigo..." He ordered as he wrapped his thick arms around Axton's shoulders.

The Commando kept thrashing about, spewing all sorts of immature profanities. The Firehawk huffed rather annoyed and harshly grabbed Axton by the cheeks, "SHUT UP!" She commanded and swatted his face a few times. Gaige looked over at the still rather miffed Krieg and patted his arm.

"Cool it down big guy...It's just one...big...aggressive family reunion." She exhaled.

After everyone calmed down a few notches, Lilith spoke up.

"Okay, while it's good to see you all again...for fuck's sake calm down. You aren't even all here yet." She pinched the bridge of her nose and tugged a cigarette from her pocket. Axton continued to glare at the Psycho. Krieg harshly snorted back.

"_Glad to see things haven't changed._" The inner self sighed.

* * *

Over the course of the next two days, a few others dropped into the floating city. Brick, Zer0, Tina, Ellie to name a few.

Once everyone gathered, Lilith explained the very situation she did to Krieg earlier in the week.

"-And well..." Her voice dropped a few notes as she swallowed thickly, "We...We don't think she's gonna wake back up...So...If you have anything to say...well...yeah."

Everything grew silent as one by one people filed into the Clinic. Some wept. Others attempted to maintain composure. But as soon as they crossed to the inside, they would break. Most carried something to present to the Siren as a parting gift.

Messages floated from the doorway.

"You was a good one Slab."

"N-nah Shawtie...We-we'll play once you get up. Bet'cha dreamin' of some fine-ass men."

"H-hey r'member when ya took them pictures for mah poem? An when ya unbrainwashed Laney? Yeah man...good times..."

Others spent their time in the room silent, like Zer0 who emerged adjusting his helmet after a solid twenty minutes. Soon after, Axton walked in with Salvador in tow. Not even minute later the Gunzerker was dragging his companion out of the building while said Commando furiously screamed, "YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD BE OKAY"

The other visitors shared a look of regret and worry.

Gaige entered then immediately exited, heavy tears rolling down her cheeks.

Krieg watched as Lilith sauntered in. From within he could hear the Firehawk.

"Well...Looks like I'm gonna be the only Siren again...You had so much Maya...You could have been so...so strong...damn it...It wasn't supposed to end this way...First Roland...Now you..." Her speech began to slur as she sobbed. The Siren left and Krieg was the last to say farewell.

The Psycho trudged in, every step heavier than the last.

"_And we still couldn't save her._"

"NEVER EXTIGUISH. FOREVER BURNING."

"_She's GONE damnit._"

"NEVER! NEVER! THE MEAT FALLS FOR NO LIES!"

* * *

From the back of the room, Zed paced past the Psycho, out to the swarm outside.

"We're uh...gonna..." His voice faltered, "If ya'll wanna...be...there..."

A crowd slowly formed in the back room. People packed themselves from wall to wall behind Krieg. Zed stepped out and over to a control panel. Krieg whipped his head over to the medic, his eyes reflecting something the Little Man thought no longer existed in the hulking man.

Fear. Sadness. Regret.

Everyone bowed their heads as Zed shut off the machine.

Silence.

Krieg looked at the Siren, his world shattered. The strongest, most powerful woman in his life...gone.

Something clattered against the tile. A murmur rose. And all eyes were on Maya. Her tattoo flickered to life before illuminating the room in a deep indigo hue. Pressure built in the room. A sensation Krieg had felt recently. Maya rose from her bed and placed her feet on the floor. Wisps of energy radiated from her form in the shape of two elegant wings. She reached for the collar that was supposed to be around her neck. Everyone stared in awe at the miracle, but Maya just looked terrified.

"I...I don't want to hurt you..." She spoke slightly above a whisper. The pressure increased and the walls dented inwards. Everyone froze, a chorus of agonized groaning resounded as the heavy pressure continued to wreak a slow havoc. The machines crumpled to ruin and the gifts for the previously "deceased" Siren began to levitate as Maya's tattoos radiated brighter.

"M-Maya...Stop!" Lilith gasped. Gaige shrieked as her mechanical arm imploded. The crowd begged for a mercy Maya couldn't give. Krieg stared at her, instantly recognizing that she had no control over the situation. The way her stormy eyes darted about, how her hands trembled.

Maya whimpered and held her hand out, commands reeling through her mind attempting to control the excruciating pressure. The Psycho violently grabbed the Siren's tattooed arm and wrapped his own bandaged one around it.

"LET GO! DO YOU WANT TO D-" Maya cut herself off, as a surge of energy rushed through her, and her hand tensed. All the pent up pressure dispersed and the surge pounded through her tattoos before all the energy was suddenly released upon Krieg.

The crushing force of her ability astounded the Psycho. He could feel his insides twist and pull as bone pressed against bone. It was a wonderful sensation of agony. He gasped a few times before staggering back, giving Maya her space.

The Phaselocker motioned to her crippled surroundings. "That's...That's why...I didn't want to you stop me...I'm too..._Unstable_"

* * *

_A/N: Well, there you have it. Now, I bet you're all thinking "how can this go on much longer?" if not, well then I suck at reading minds. Oh, and if you're wondering about Krieg, well...that will get explained better later on. I hope I kept everyone in character and did not disappoint any of you. _

_I actually welled up a few times writing this. I put all my love and soul into this. So once again, enjoy. _

_Rationale behind Axton and Gaige's emotions. I always thought that Axton had a crush on Maya, and that he'd be one of those really aggressive grievers. Like they just become a ball of rage when extremely sad. As for Gaige, I know she's generally really awesome and confident, but I felt that she'd be the type who doesn't handle sadness well, (especially for her ECHO-cast thing)._

_But that was our first chapter. A lot of shit is going to go down. SO GET PREPARED. _

_SEE YA LATER. SWEET POTATERS._


	3. Story of my Life

_**A/N: I return! hahahahahaahahahahahahahaahhaaaa**_

All eyes were on Maya as she fearfully backed away, arms extended once more. The Siren pressed herself against the wall, staring at the damage she had done. Her powers began to flare up once more. Maya's eyes widened, she would be damned before she hurt her friends again. With a guttural screech she twisted her hands and did her best to keep her powers in control.

"STAY OUT!" she screamed, forcing the pressure to toss the others outside while she attempted to contain herself.

"_Ohkay Maya...you can do this...we've had worse...we can get through it...we can...c-can_" Her thoughts began to falter as more power surged through her tattoos. The world felt as if it was crashing down on her shoulders. Her breathing hitched and everything began to blur together in a haze of purple and blue. With all this potential energy bubbling up, her next release could send Sanctuary out of the sky. Panic set in and Maya curled up on the ground, feeling the pressure crack the linoleum beneath her feet.

"_No...No no...WE AREN'T DOING THIS AGAIN!_" She mentally dictated, punching her fist out into the air. Everything in the room slid back from the force of her power. Quickly Maya tucked her legs under herself and sat up straight. Taking a deep breath, the Siren held this position, trying to force herself into a meditation. But within seconds the walls around her began to screech and groan as they twisted inwards. Maya held her breath and clenched her eyes shut.

"_It's not going to control me...I control my powers...I have control..._" She repeated over and over, exhaling slowly. The screeching subsided and the surge vanished. Maya took another deep breath and held it, "_I will not hurt my friends_." She opened her eyes.

"Holy shit it-"

The examination table in front of her collapsed on itself.

"Never mind."

Convinced that her surge was over with, the Siren paced cautiously out into the open, where all her friends were still staring at her. Another wave of guilt passed over Maya as she spoke up.

"I can explain."

Lilith pushed herself off the ground and brushed off her pants, "Oh sure, but can you explain _without_ you know, exploding half of the city?"

Maya rubbed the back of her head and slumped over, "I think...I think so."

Some of the other citizens dispersed, not wanting to be around in case another flare up should occur. Everyone else gathered around the center of Sanctuary where Maya began her story.

"It was about...three and a half years ago..."

* * *

Handsome Jack lay defeated, the Warrior vanquished, and loot scattered as far as the eye could see. As the Vault Hunters scampered about the Hyperion tampered grounds, collecting more than enough guns to last another year, but Maya investigated for something more...rare. If anything Tannis raved about was correct in any sense, then perhaps the Siren would find something about her origins. As she paced around, scuffing her boots into piles of ash in case she missed something, a dull orange glint caught her eye. Maya looked over to the Vault-shaped arch that was glowing a little brighter than she remembered.

Drawn by curiosity, the Siren sauntered over and investigated the arch further. She shuffled her feet and caught herself on a raised stone. With a light kick, Maya flipped the rock over and gasped. Within the crevasse lies a beaten book, the cover worn with age. With an excited gasp she quickly pulled the tome from its spot and hesitantly flipped open the cover, eyes widening in wonder. The pages were in surprisingly excellent condition, filled with hand written information. A squeal escaped her lips and caught the attention of her team mates.

"MAYA! ARE YOU OKAY?! " Axton hollered. The Siren looked over her shoulder, her face beaming with an excitement the others had never seen. With a spring in her step Maya jogged over to the team and held out the archaic book. Everyone drew closer, as if they were expecting something amazing.

"Sooooo...Does it...Do anything?" Gaige leaned closer to the book, blowing the dust off then sneezing.

"It's a legendary Siren Tome! It's probably filled with all sorts of-"

"MAAAAN...I thought you'd found some pearlescent..." Salvador grumbled and continued his search for rare weapons. Maya slumped her shoulders as her friends all wandered away, but the Siren didn't let their disinterest get to her as she quickly ECHO-ed Tannis of her find.

Needless to say, the obsessive archeologist was ecstatic, and demanded that Maya drop everything and return to her. Which is exactly what she did, after all, everyone else could handle dragging the plethora of weaponry home.

Upon arrival in Sanctuary, Maya beheld the sight of Tannis eagerly pacing around Pierce Station with a handkerchief up to her mouth, gagging all the while. She really must have been excited if she had left her office. The Siren laughed softly and walked up to the anxious woman. The archeologist turned on her heel and lurched over, hugging her stomach as she vomited . The blue-haired woman curled her lips in slight disgust, sure she had been vomited on before, but she never really got used to the sight.

"Apologies..." Tannis wiped her mouth with the kerchief, "I'd rather not spend another minute here...How about we take this back to HQ?"

After a thirty second walk back to the Raider's base of operation, the insane(ly smart) woman immediately reached out a hand to get a hold of the tome. Maya gingerly passed it on as if it was made of glass. The researcher slowly flipped through the pages, mumbling phrases to herself and occasionally glancing up at the Siren in question. Everything was silent except for the crackling of pages being turned.

Maya grew anxious as Tannis took her time reading over the content, "So uh..."

"EUREKA! BUT OF COURSE!" The Siren hopped back at the other woman's sudden outburst, "Quick! Let me see some of your other books!" Tannis furiously grabbed at the air urgently like a child after candy. Maya opened up her storage deck and pulled out two other "class mods", a green Angelic Nurse one and a purple Hell Binder one, and placed them on the desk.

The archeologist took no time in flipping open the other two books before placing the Legendary tome in front. Her fingers trailed across the blocks of text and curled her lip in thought.

"It's just what I suspected..." She murmured, "These...others have been translated by manufacturers...made to look more appealing..." Tannis flipped the books closed and pointed to the "translation provided by..." sticker.

"So...How did they translate the-"

"I haven't the slightest! But it is just a marvelous mystery to unveil! I shall get to it immediately!" Tannis quickly queued up a holo-screen and began furiously typing away.

After five uncomfortable minutes in silence, Maya attempted to speak up.

"Should I...You know...Help?"

"If by 'help' you mean 'vacate the premises' then yes, by all means." The archeologist shooed off the Siren with a flick of the wrist.

"_Well looks like I'm not going anywhere today..._" Maya noted as she paced outside.

The Vault Hunter wandered out to the square where she noticed her companions divvying up the loot amongst themselves. She quickly marched over to see if she could snag something. The others gave small greetings and continued their work.

"You ran off pretty fast, "The Commando mumbled, "What was so important about that book?"

"Eh, nothing you would care for." Maya huffed and picked through the endless common weapons.

* * *

Days passed, Maya had begun to grow bored of sitting around Sanctuary with nothing to do but gamble, drink, and wait. She sat up at Moxxi's, glass in hand, and sighed.

"What's wrong sugar? Haven't seen you this out of it for a while." The voluptuous bar tender asked.

"I found this ancient Siren text...and Tannis has been translating it for the past...four days. I've just had nothing to really do since we won." The Siren slumped into her palm and drummed her fingers against her cheek. Moxxi took the glass from Maya and walked to the keg to refill it.

"Oh shoot." She huffed, "Outta ale, and it's not even happy hour yet." Maya sat up and looked at the woman.

"Hey Maya, would'ja mind running out to grab some from the booze runners?"

"Of co-"

"I...HAVE...DONE IT! MAYA! MAYA! COME QUICK!" Tannis excitedly chattered over the ECHO.

The Siren nearly fell off her stool in excitement, "Sorry Moxxi!" she scrambled to her feet and sprinted out the door and to HQ.

Upon entry, Maya was greeted by the archeologist explaining everything to a rather confused and concerned Lilith.

"-AND THAT IS WHY THIS PROJECT MUST START POSTHASTE!"

The Firehawk turned her attention to the other Siren and smiled, "I see you found what you were looking for."

Maya shifted in place and cracked a grin, "Yeah, maybe I can actually figure out what the hell else these powers can do." she twisted her tattooed arm around.

"Well, I think you should go for it."

"THEN LET US START RIGHT AWAY!" Tannis began pulling out various instruments.

"Can it at least wait until everyone is off on their own?" Lilith requested. The excitement in the air suddenly froze.

"What?"

"Yeah...We're all meeting for one last hoorah out in the Badlands tomorrow night."

Maya just stood there, frozen, was it really time to move on?

Tannis scoffed, "I suppose it can hold off."

* * *

That final night with the other Vault Hunters went by too fast for Maya. As she sat on the train heading out to Tundra Express thoughts flurried through her mind. The train stationed itself at the old Eridium transfer depot where bandits were notorious for staying. She stepped onto the platform and took a deep breath. Her arm began to surge with raw power and her fingers trembled.

A lone midget stumbled out into the open. Maya locked her gaze on the little psychopath and trapped him in a ball of burning energy. She closed her eyes and envisioned the Phaselock pulling in everything around it. Suddenly other bandits were pulled from their shack and had a maelstrom of elements wreak havoc on them. Within seconds the horde had been reduced to nothing but a mess of organs and burnt flesh. The Siren smiled and jogged down to the mess, picking up loose change and ammo.

Maya flipped open her book and scratched down some notes. Then she pulled out her ECHO.

"First test: Mind's Eye abilities. Seems like following the meditation practices stated really do affect how strong the Phaselock is...cool...Maybe I could just meditate for an entire day and see how that goes."

And she did just that. Maya found herself a nice safe place to sit down and achieve inner piece.

When she came back to consciousness, Maya could feel her powers already strengthening. With excited energy, she sprinted out to the Varkid Ranch and fired a few shots to draw the oversized insects from their hives.

A swarm of chattering young Varkids crawled to the surface and advanced towards the Siren. The Phaselocker didn't move though. Instead she fluidly swung her arm and trapped one of the insects then pulled the other ones towards it. Once again, elements wreaked havoc, this time stronger. Maya laughed to herself in awe of what she could do.

Then, an idea came into her head. Maya looked up towards a cliff where she knew one of the largest Varkid's on Pandora resided. With excitement in her step, the Siren sprinted off towards the snowy cliff, making quick work of anything in her way with Phaselocks and gunfire. What was surprising is that she didn't feel winded in the slightest, in fact she felt better than ever. Everything seemed to be in a new focus, so much clearer and brighter. The crunching of snow beneath her boots sounded sharp and crisp in her ears. The metallic scent of the cold stung more that it had before, but it was still fantastic. All in all, Maya felt so...alive.

She reached the top of the cliff, where the hive queen "Madam Von Bartlesby"-as Tina called it-was buzzing around.

"Hey you oversized beetle!" Maya shouted and began willing another surge through her arm. The gigantic Varkid charged, aiming to end the Siren in one blow, but Maya was faster. In the blink of an eye, Madam Von Bartlesby was surrounded in the Phaselock, at the mercy of her captor. The Siren closed her eyes, held her hand out, and splayed her fingers. A pulse of energy radiated from her finger tips as she commanded '_obey_' in her thoughts. Suddenly the Phaselock shrunk over the Varkid's head and it became docile.

"Once I cleared out my thoughts, it seems as if I can choose which skills are utilized. Awesome." Maya reported into her ECHO, "Oh shit it wore off." She pulled out her Apt Plasma Caster and unloaded clip after clip into the monster until it fell into a heap of corroding exoskeleton.

Maya spent months following this pattern of day-long meditation then unleashing fury after fury of controlled power, but soon, it just wasn't satisfying. If this was all her new tome had to offer then Maya felt fairly cheated. That was until she stumbled across one word in her texts.

_Eridium_

* * *

The Siren had a new mission: To get her hands on one of the raw purple stones. So she went to the one place where she was certain there would be enough to test with. And what would you know, as soon as she reconstructed out in the Eridium Blight, flashes of purple glowed from fissures in the ground.

Curious, Maya paced over to one of the fissures and trailed her fingers over the gleaming rocks. She dug her hand deep inside and attempted to pull out a chunk, but no such luck. Eridium was insanely harder than it looked. For the second attempt, the Siren tried shooting at the fissure, but the bullets only got trapped inside the stone. She cursed under her breath and balled her hands into fists. With a rush of irritation, Maya slammed her tattooed hand down on the crystals and felt them shatter under her force.

Tension swirled around the Siren as an intense pressure built and sent rippling waves through the ground, tearing more raw pieces of Eridium up. Maya watched as the pressure tore up the land and large fractions of rock floated around her weightlessly. Jets of fire and electricity trailed around in arcs about her figure. Pools of acid and slag flowed from the cracks around her feet and rose in perfect spheres. Creatures from all over were helplessly pulled towards her, then caught in this personal gravitational field. They flailed helplessly as the elements soon targeted them. A cacophony of wails resounded. Maya had no idea what was going on, not once had she made such a feat.

A rippling surge rushed through the Phaselocker's arm and she shrieked as the pressure suddenly dispersed, sending everything flying out in all different directions. Maya fell to her knees, dizzy and exhausted from the sudden power she had obtained. Within seconds, she was unconscious.

When she awoke three days later, Maya knew she had to tell everyone back in Sanctuary.

* * *

Tannis, needless to say, almost exploded at the report she was so thrilled. Words poured from her lips at a mile a minute. She requested an immediate physical from the Siren, and every last agonizing detail of what happened.

Lilith, however, seemed a little more...wary. She pulled Maya aside when Tannis was finally done babbling on.

"What's up Lilith?" Maya asked, rubbing the bandages from the numerous blood tests she had just been subjected to.

"I...I want you to be careful with that Eridium, 'kay?" The Firehawk looked at her companion with all seriousness. Maya took a step back, Lilith had never sounded so stern before.

"Yeah, I...I will."

"But have fun with it too. There's a lot of neat shit you can do with it." She smiled.

And with that, Maya was off again.

She spent months tampering with Eridium, all in moderation of course, but the Siren soon found out that there really was no way to be careful with the stuff. The smallest ounce of Eridium allowed her Phaselocks to twist metal like putty, to completely heal wounds, to compress bodies into nothingness. Maya found it amazing.

* * *

On a warm afternoon, the Siren was out fighting in the Bloodshot Stronghold when she saw a small band of Raiders on a mission to eradicate the rest of the Bloodshots. Maya jogged up to join their endeavors. The group gladly accepted her help, and while Maya wanted to be the one aiding in the bloodshed, she figured she'd let them get the experience and just heal up any nasty wounds.

The group brawled their way to the top of the dam, feeling rather on top of the world as well. Then, a super badass loader constructed. But the Raiders were not deterred.

"Do you need some help?" Maya offered.

"No Ma'am. We can handle. C'mon guys!" The Raiders charged in and true to their word, were able to take down the super badass-with a little assistance from Maya and her Res skill. The Siren now had the job of playing nurse and patching up the others.

She looked over to the last Raider, noting that his calf had been almost cut in half.

"Are we gonna have to...amputate?" he asked.

Maya shook her head and pulled out an Eridium shard then crushed it in her grasp. Energy pulsed in her arm and her tattoos glowed a calming indigo. With a wave of the hand, the deep laceration began healing itself. The Raider began to shriek as suddenly his leg cracked and the wound began spilling acid that quickly ate away his flesh.

Maya gasped and tried to stop the damage, but was interrupted by the other Raiders also being affected. Their bodies contorted and their bones snapped. Their screams pierced into her mind, echoing as fire charred their skin until nothing was left. The Siren panicked, the structured around her began to crumble and falter as she went into an emotional overload. All she was doing was healing him! She followed the procedure like she had done thousands of times before. Why did it suddenly go awry?! Steel screeched as sparks flew, concrete crumbled into dust, iron twisted into the sky unnaturally.

Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. A malformed wake of destruction surrounded her. This could never happen again. No one could stop her. She would have to disappear. Maya knew it was irrational, but once was enough to tell her that she no longer had control and that it couldn't continue. It had to stop.

Thoughts jumbling, Maya pulled out her ECHO and recorded one last message.

"Lilith, Tannis, everyone...I tried." She typed in the code for Winshear Wastes and sent the ECHO through.

Catastrophic thoughts played as the Siren envisioned herself being the eventual downfall of the Vault Hunters. She imagined everyone coming back together only for her powers to surge and wipe them out. She could already hear their screams for mercy.

"No." She said as she typed in the coordinates to the control core.

* * *

The core was eerily silent, yet for some reason, it called to the Siren. Maya felt her powers suddenly surge and twist the metal around her into spirals. She made her way into Angel's chambers and saw the small pile of flowers she and the others had left for the departed once everything was said and done. Pressure built in her head as she paced up to the collar on the ground. Emotions began to overwhelm as she remembered the day they ended Angel, and wondered if they would have to do the same to her.

Maya picked the collar off the ground, and instantly felt her powers peak as the walls expanded out and the system above her exploded. Elements danced off the walls and left damage marks. Pressure built up in the Siren and her arms began to bruise as her abilities ran wild. A pulse cracked the metal wide enough to see outside.

In the distance, the Phaselocker thought she could hear shouting.

"MAYA!"

They were still going to come for her.

"Don't stop me."

* * *

Maya finished her story, fortunate enough that she was winded enough for her powers to stay subdued for the extent of it all. Everyone sat there, jaws slack and eyes wide. Utter silence.

"So...There..."


End file.
